Furinjuru's ChikaRiko Week 2018
by Furinjuru
Summary: One week of ChikaRiko compiled into one story!
1. New School, New Me (Day 1 - School)

"Riko, are you ready for school?"

"Coming!" While Riko hurriedly puts on her red ribbon, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. It's weird seeing herself in a sailor outfit rather than Otonokizaka's dark-blue blazer, but she reminds herself that it's something she'll get used to eventually. She wants to change, and what better way to do so than moving to another prefecture and going to school there instead?

She picks up her bag, checking that everything she needs for her first day is inside before putting it on her shoulder, She goes downstairs, where both of her parents are already waiting for her. Her mother is cooking something, while her father is sipping a cup of tea at the dining table. "Are you heading off?" Her mother asks when she hears Riko's footsteps approaching. "Don't forget to bring your lunch. I made sandwiches for you today."

"Okay!" She grabs her lunch from the counter, carefully putting it into her bag. She gives her parents a quick kiss on the cheek before running out of the house. She makes her way to the bus stop, waiting for a bus to come by that will take her to Uranohoshi Girls' High School. It's almost like waiting for a train back in Tokyo. Although the stations are far more crowded, and the trains do come more frequently.

A bus comes almost ten minutes later. Just in time, as Riko had begun wondering if it would be better to just walk to school. Sitting down near the door, she watches as the unfamiliar scenery passes her by. She hasn't had the opportunity to really explore Uchiura, something she wants to do sooner than later. She's only been to the beach, but she likes it a lot more than the beaches back in Tokyo. She can only hope that the rest of Uchiura is as beautiful.

Speaking of the beach, her mind goes back to yesterday's incident and the pretty girl she met back then. The way she pressed her body against hers before they were both sent tumbling into the water, and how she had helped her dry off and kept her company. She was weird, but charming in her own way.

Riko blushes and shakes her head, desperately attempting to clear her mind. _Focus! Think about something else!_ Like how she'll introduce herself later. Yeah, that could work. She attempts to put more thought into how the new school year will go for her, but she's only able to keep her imagination occupied for thirty seconds before it goes back to her previous thoughts. Clearly, that's not going to work either, so it's better to just not think at all unless she wants her mind to wander to gay thoughts.

She hums a small tune to herself as the bus keeps moving. She faintly remembers the notes; it was one of her better compositions, approximately three months ago. A memory of her former success. Hopefully, her search for inspiration will help her rediscover her talent.

She arrives at Uranohoshi a few minutes before classes begin. She's greeted by her homeroom teacher, a nice woman named Miss Yamada, and is promptly led to her class. Miss Yamada goes in first, calming her classmates down and announcing that there's a new transfer student before letting Riko walk in.

Her introduction is simple, measured, and calm, hopefully giving her classmates a good idea of her character. As she finishes, however, rather than the polite applause she expected, a single girl stands up and points at her.

"It's a miracle!" She exclaims, and Riko can feel her jaw drop when she immediately recognizes the girl's orange-colored hair.

"You...!" Standing in front of the class, Riko is unable to hide the surprise from showing on her face. She knows that she looks ridiculous, but right now those thoughts are at the very back of her mind. After all, the girl she met only yesterday is right here in her class. She can't believe that those kinds of coincidences could actually happen in real life.

But the girl doesn't seem surprised, as if she knows that it's not a coincidence. She just keeps staring at her with that wide, beaming smile.

 _That... was the start of it all._


	2. Eggs and Sandwiches (Day 2 - Cooking)

It had started off as a simple joke.

At least, that's what Chika _thinks_ it was. Jokes are funny, help break up tense atmospheres, and can act as a conversation starter when appropriate. Unfortunately, Dia was the person who made the joke, and unlike Mari, it's not quite obvious when it's a joke and when it's not.

The nine members of Aqours were in the club room, discussing ideas for their next song. Riko, knowing that this might take a while and someone might get hungry, took out her lunchbox and opened it, revealing a variety of sandwiches. She passed them on to everyone else, letting everyone choose whichever they like the most. So far so good. Things began escalating when the box reached Dia, who took one and scrutinized it. Then, she asked,

"Did you make this yourself?" Riko nodded, and Dia scrutinized it even harder. "...it looks like something from a convenience store." She joked. It was a reasonable statement; convenience store sandwiches are simple to make and appeal to a lot of people, so even people who can't cook would be able to make them. Nonetheless, Riko had taken offense to that statement.

"W-what do you mean?" She stammered. "I totally made this by myself." That was Riko's mistake. Dia would've dropped it, but her flustered reaction implied that she was hiding something. Dia presses on.

"Really?" Then, Dia rummaged through her bag and pulled out a sandwich. It had a small logo on its packaging, marking that it had been bought from one of the nearby convenience stores. She unwrapped it and placed it side-by-side with Riko's. Whether because of sheer coincidence or not, the two looked nearly identical. Mari burst out into laughter, while Riko looked so embarrassed that steam was coming out of her ears. "Riko, is there a possibility that you work part-time in a convenience store?" Dia joked again.

Utterly humiliated, Riko huffed and crossed her arms. "I-I can cook! Just you wait. I'll cook something and share it with everyone next week."

"Next week?" Dia smiled. "Why next week? Can't you bring something tomorrow? Unless...you need to practice, since you actually can't cook?"

Fortunately for them, Kanan stepped in, preventing the argument from escalating further. "Dia, I'm beginning to think Mari's a bad influence on you."

Dia rolled her eyes. "It's joke!" She said, complete with Mari's pose and high-pitched English. Mari couldn't stop laughing for a few minutes after that. Then, everything was back to normal. At least, that's what Chika thought.

During the trip home, Riko approached Chika with a request.

"So, I actually _can't_ cook," she said bashfully. "But if I admit that, Dia would never let me hear the end of it." Chika nodded in understanding. Those two had some kind of rivalry going on, so it would be a big hit to Riko's pride if she admitted defeat. "Which is why I need your help."

"Huh?" Chika stared, dumbfounded. "My help?"

"Are you free this Saturday?" Riko asked, and Chika replied with a quick 'yes'. "Do you think you can come over to my place in the afternoon? I want to try cooking some things, and I want you to try them out."

"Definitely," Chika's reply came quickly without an ounce of hesitation. Spending the weekend at her crush's place? Sign her up.

"Then I'll see you this weekend?" Riko asked, blushing. Chika nodded, almost as embarrassed as Riko. The two girls got onto the bus, talking to each other on their way home and not thinking too much about the age-old question of, _is this a date?_

And that is how Chika ended up in the Sakurauchi household, sitting at their dining table while Riko struggles to prep the ingredients. From her current position, she watches Riko take all of the necessary ingredients from her fridge, placing them on the counter. She checks her phone, wanting to make sure she has all the right ingredients for the hamburger recipe she found online. And just like everything that led up to this point, it started out okay.

That is, until Riko got to the onions.

It all happened so fast that Chika couldn't stop it. Riko held the onion in a way that would've made You cringe. She applied a little too much force on the knife when it wouldn't cut through the onions, and it ended up cutting something else instead.

Riko lets out a loud shriek and drops the knife on the cutting board. Chika stands up the moment she heard it, running to the kitchen where she sees Riko clutching her palm. "Riko-chan?" Riko turned to face her, tears threatening to form in her eyes. It's then that Chika notices a little bit of red on her hand. "Oh my god, is that-"

"There's a first aid kit in the bathroom," Riko mutters, moving to the kitchen sink. "It's in the cabinet. Can you grab that for me?"

Before Riko even finishes her sentence, Chika runs to the bathroom and takes the first aid kit, returning to Riko in record time. She walks over to Riko, who's cleaning her hand in the sink. "Here, let me see it." Begrudgingly, Riko offers her hand to Chika, who carefully holds it while inspecting the injury. "I don't think that's too bad? It's not too deep." Chika opens the first aid kit, sighing in relief when she finds a guide on what to do. She follows it exactly, not wanting to bring accidental harm to Riko.

Once Chika is done treating it, placing a small bandage on the wound, she smiles. "There, all better!" She says. Riko stares at her palm, looking defeated.

"...looks like Dia was right. I can't cook after all."

"Whaaaat? That's not it." Chika laughs nervously, hoping to restore Riko's mood. "You definitely can! You should just go for something a bit simpler. Like...a sandwich! Here, I'll help you if you want."

They start from scratch, although there are considerably fewer ingredients now. In the end, Riko decides on something simple that she likes, a hard-boiled egg sandwich. Chika offers help whenever Riko needs it, whether it be keeping an eye on the eggs so they don't overcook or making sure the bread isn't burnt. After a few stressful minutes (for Riko, at least) they have a single sandwich. Riko groans.

"I never want to cook again," she says, Chika giggling at her statement. Then, Chika takes a clean knife and cuts the sandwich into two triangle-shaped pieces. She offers one to Riko, who stares at it, confused.

"We made it together, so I thought it would only be fair for us to share the food, too," Chika explains. Riko flushes red, but carefully takes the sandwich from Chika. She slowly bites into it, the other girl doing the same as they taste the food. "It's good!"

"It...is," Riko says, surprise tinting her tone. She made this?

"See? What did I tell you? You definitely can cook. Now, all you have to do is try it out yourself."

Riko smiles, thanking Chika for her help. They make a few more sandwiches for their respective families before Chika finally returns to her house. Left alone, Riko seems relieved as she stares at the plate of sandwiches on the dining table. The sandwiches she made with Chika.

The day Riko is supposed to share her cooking with Aqours, she brings them a lunchbox full of sandwiches, just like last week.

"...I assume you will claim that you made these yourself?" Dia asks, taking a bite out of one. "It's good, at least."

"Oh, knock it off, Dia," Kanan says, happily munching on her second sandwich. "Stop messing with Riko. Does it even really matter whether or not she can cook?"

As the third-years begin to bicker among themselves, Riko notices Chika staring at her lunchbox. Her eyes light up when she finds what she's looking for, and she claims one of the egg sandwiches for herself. Riko follows suit, the sandwich disappearing little-by-little as she takes measured bites.

As she does so, an image of the orange-haired girl appears in her mind, warmth spreading throughout her body.


End file.
